No More Running
by Fwoukje
Summary: Sophie fic (RoryLogan)rnrnResponse to the first fic exchange at Eventintegrity: Rory gets an invitation to an LDB Gathering as a guest, or is she someone's date? Confusion, heart-to-hearts and a new motto: No More Running! Will Rory keep her promise? (Upd
1. An Invitation

**Response to the first fic exchange at Eventintegrity. Made to suit the following requirements**

To Include:  
1. Jealousy  
2. A Life and Death Brigade Trip  
3. Sledding

Not to Include:  
1. Jess  
2. Rory with a guy other than Logan  
3. Parental Interference (Lorelai can be in it, but don't make her interfere)

* * *

_Ace_, it said on the envelope. Nothing more, nothing less, but quite enough to disclose the identity of the sender to Rory.

She'd actually grown to like the nickname over time, as she'd grown to like the arrogant, cocky, smirking idiot that had invented it. It wasn't something she'd planned to happen—falling in like with him; she had always hated guys like Logan Huntzberger, but he had been very good to her after Dean had broken up with her—in front of a crowd of Yalies, of which she made a mental note. And he had helped her to get that scoop on the Life and Death Brigade. She wouldn't call them friends, especially not after the pranks they'd pulled on each other; it was a kind of mutualism rather, existing together and benifiting from being close to each other. He apparently benefited from getting her easily worked up with his pranks and obscenely elitist behaviour, she benefited from having a guy on her side for once, one not pursuing her, not in love with her, not her ex-boyfriend, and unmarried to boot!

As she reread the note she bit her lip in contemplation of her next action.

_Ace,_

_You are cordially invited to join the LDB on their annual winter trip 2004._

_There are three rules._

_1. No reporter activities this time, no notebook, no story (hence, pictures are allowed, for private use only.)  
2. Do not mess with the integrity of the event, i.e. you do what we say and you shall enjoy it.  
3. Have fun, live a little!_

_What do you say Ace?_

_Meet us at the courtyard, 7 a.m. tomorrow, no blindfold this time._

_P.S. It's an overnight thingThree nights, actually. Pack warm clothes. Just though I'd give you notice this time._

Her heart fluttered a little at reading his words (over and over and over). She'd now been invited to a Life and death Brigade event, for the first time not as a reporter, but rather as a participant. On the one hand it was a pity, it could have made a good story (and thus it could have saved her a lot of horribly mindwrecking hours in search of a topic for her next feature article), but there was something enthralling about being asked along just as Rory, Logan's …mutualist.

"Mutualist, not friend!" she reminded herself, it came out barely above a whisper, however, nothing gets past some people.

"Please tell me you don't cut yourself! That is so nineties…" Paris sighed with a frown on her face as she walked into their common room.

"Mutualist, not mutilist," Rory pensively added, "was I talking out loud?"

"Only the "Rory; mutilist" bit. "You need therapy girl, would you like me to give Terence a ring?"

"Ugh, no thanks," Rory said "I've got to start packing anyway. No time for a sofa session. Or whatever you do with Terence…"

"Hey, now don't you go start accusing me! I had trouble enough over Terence with Jamie, and Asher didn't like him either. What, you secretly fancy me or something?" Paris bellowed as Rory slammed the door of her room shut and started hastily packing. Tuning out Paris was a habit she had luckily acquired within the first week of living in a dorm with her.

She had to call her mom, though she dreaded having to tell her about going off to some unknown destination with rich frat-boys. _Limo-boy_ hadn't been a favorite with Lorelai ever since he had dropped off a drunken Rory. Her mom had gotten over the drunkenness pretty soon, and though the limo-part took her a little longer, Rory was quite confident that Lorelai was almost fine with Logan now. What she dreaded more was the possibility for mockage. It could really go either way: hurt anger or the "mock-Rory till she cries" show. Bracing herself for what was to come Rory pressed the speeddial.

"House of pleasure speaking. For Giselle press one, for Lydia press two, for Lorelai press three."

"You know mom, those funny phone pick-ups are getting way too long, it's tedious." Rory sighed.

"Oh no! Tell me it's not as bad as Sookie and Jackson and," she got into a high pitched cooing voice "_Davey's_ answering machine message, please, or I will have to kill myself for losing my knack at the pick-up!Hello!"

"No, you'll be fine, some phone fitness will do." Rory chuckled, her mom was still like a sixteen year old sometimes. More so perhaps than Rory.

This seemed like the 'opportune moment' to bring up the real sore point, explaining to her mom why she would be spending the start of the Christmas holidays away from home.

"You'll have plenty of time for that anyway," Rory cautiously continued, "because I'm going to spend the next few days away with some friends…if that's okay with you, that is."

"What friends?"

"From Yale." Rory couldn't quite gauge the tone of her mother's voice.

"Somewhere where?"

"I…don't exactly know…" Rory had to admit that sounded rather stupid.

"Aaaaaah, so it's limo boy and his secret society friends. Uh-huh. Okay."

"Okay Mom, please don't be mad?" Why did this have to be so difficult, Rory thought.

"Oh, hun, I am far from mad. You have no idea how far from mad, and disappointed, and frustrated and sad for that matter, I am. Having you off with the glitzy glam boys will give me and naked Luke some precious alone time." Lorelai's grin was audible. Not difficult at all then, huh.

"Ugh, okay, thanks for the visual Mom. I'm really glad you're okay with it though." Rory breathed out audibly.

"Well, you know hun, at your age I can't really stop you from hanging out with the people you like, doing crazy stuff, right? Just be glad that you don't have a bitter mom who hates you for taking her childhood away from her and thus depriving her of said crazy friends and outings."

"Wow, now I've got a complex to add to my incestuous visual imagery, again Mom, thanks so much!" Rory added in mocked exasperation.

"You know I love you, with the complexes and all! Oh and Rory,"

"Yeah?"

"If you end up making out in front of a fireplace…" Here we go, Rory thought, oy with the mockage already!

"Mom!"

"Well, just make sure your hair doesn't get caught in the flames because that is not a pretty sight. Frankly, I think Betty Sherwold never got over the embarrassment of being half bald all through spring."

"Bye Mom!" Rory hung up the phone and grinned a little. How come she felt little butterflies at the thought of making out in front of a fireplace? Come on, who would she make out with anyway?

* * *

_A.N.: This fic has been completed already, so don't worry, I won't abandon it like I did my other multi-parter. It's just long enough to cut into a few pieces. Let me know what you think, so I can decide on whether I should post the other parts too... _


	2. Mars, Snickers, Nuts

How did she ever let herself get coaxed into getting up early for these events? Any fun she might look forward to having should have been cancelled out immediately against the notion of getting up early and going out into the cold New England winter morning. She shivered once more, and was relieved by the fact that she needn't wear a blindfold this time. But then again, perhaps not seeing Finn drive would be better than seeing him drive, she thought, as she saw the black car skidding to a halt in the middle of the driveway.

"Great, I have to risk my life even before I get to this winter-fest of yours!" she called out to Logan who came out of the car to get her bags into the car for her.

"Relax Ace, you've been in the car with Finn before, and you've survived, so you will probably survive this time."

"Well, statistically, one safe trip with a certain chauffeur doesn't lessen the chances of crashing the next time." Rory said indignantly.

"Empirically however, it has been shown that those who drive more, cause less accidents, relatively speaking, and Finn here always drives, making him our safest bet."

And of course he had to add that heart-melting smirk of his, Rory thought. She hated that she never seemed to be able to get the last word in a discussion with Logan. She was smarter and faster in debate than most people she knew, but Logan she had still to beat. He lightly touched her hand, since she was still clutching the last bag to be put into the car. Tiny electrical sparks flew up her arm from her fingers where he had touched her.

"Whoa… what's with the heavy bag, Ace?" Logan said as he took the bag from her and nearly lost his balance because of the weight of it. Before she could stop him he'd peeked inside one of the zippers that was almost bursting at the seams.

Rory reddened, but Logan just smiled softly and said, "Well Ace, that book sniffing of yours is one hell of an addiction. But still, better than crack I guess." He zipped up the bag and pushed it into the already overfull trunk, to Rory's great surprise he just smiled at her and… was that a wink?

Rory couldn't stop the blush on her cheeks from rising even further (she felt like she was blushing on her forehead, or even in the parting of her hair if it was possible to go red there at all) as Logan softly pressed a hand to her back to usher her into the car.

The drive didn't take long, and seeing the apparent destination loom before them Rory suddenly understood why they had been driving straight into the city. They weren't going to drive to their final destination; they were taking the Huntzbergers' private jet…

"How opulent!" Rory exclaimed as the car came to a halt near the hangar, now joined by a couple more cars.

"Well, you didn't think I was going to let Finn drive us all the way to Colorado, now did you, Ace? I would never do that to you…"

"We're going to Colorado?" She interrupted Logan.

Wow, Logan couldn't have imagined that those big blue eyes could get any bigger, but apparently they could.

He only laughed and Rory had to remind herself to never be surprised at anything that happens in Life and Death Brigade outings. And she did feel a tiny tingle in the pit of her stomach at how Logan had said that last sentence, _I would never do that to you_... Why was she so surprised at how good that made her feel?

The passengers of four other cars that had followed them from Yale piled into the airplane. Most of the faces were familiar, some even attended classes with Rory, but she didn't know any names. However the first unknown face that she got to know by name didn't make a very good impression on Rory.

"Logan!" a rather short but very shapely blonde shouted or rather squeeed at Logan, and as he turned, grinning widely, she flung herself around his neck and kissed him, though it looked more like she was attacking him. And to Rory's chagrin, Logan didn't seem to mind the public display of sexual aggression one bit.

"Nice to see you too, Alicia!" he smiled. Rory willed to see some kind of embarrassment for the scene on Logan's face, but there was nothing. Just that stupid irritating smirk. That easy smile, which he apparently wasn't picky in sharing with just anyone.

"You all right there, reporter girl?" Finn sat himself into the empty plane seat next to Rory. She'd mistakenly assumed that Logan would join her (why did she assume that anyway, it was not like they were friends and she was obviously not here as his date… ick… she meant guest), so she hadn't taken the empty seat next to the only nice girl she knew on the plane: Stephanie. Then again, Finn wasn't bad company either; he could just be a little tricky with those questions he always seemed to have to ask.

"I said, are you all right? Hello, Mars to Rory?"

"Oh yeah, Finn, why wouldn't I be all right? And isn't it Earth to Rory?"

"Uh, nevermind Rory, I guess I didn't just see you zoning out after seeing Logan kiss Alicia McSluttyho. Oh and I am of course the epitome of manlihood, therefore I am Mars, my dear Venus. Or do you prefer Snickers?" Finn said with a huff.

"Nuts, actually, but what did you just call her?"

"Oh, everyone knows that Alicia's the girl to call when you need some womanflesh. Logan didn't bring a date on the trip so Alicia has chosen to be his date."

If Logan didn't bring a date, and everyone else did—as she looked around she did indeed see an about equal share of boys and girls—what was she, and with whom was she here?

"I see question marks in your eyes my dear, and I will clear any doubts you may have this instant." Finn laughed. "You are here per invitation of Stephanie, Colin and me. And Logan of course. But since I have a date, and Stephanie and Colin are in a bit of a sore spot right now, Stephanie decided to put you down as her date. Hence, Colin and Logan are both dateless, and Colin called Alicia in order to get back at Stephanie. Alicia however has a well known clear preference for Logan over any man, certainly over Colin. So she transferred herself to Logan and our poor friend Colin is stuck with the spare one-seater next to the emergency exit."

"Oh, you call that simple?" Rory said. "I call that messed up…"

"Suit yourself." Finn said, looking around distractedly. "I'm going to find the minibar, want some champagne?"

"Hell yeah," Rory said. Some alcohol might be able to save this trip, as she looked upon Logan and Alicia sucking face in plain view once again… She was not jealous, at all, she just hated that skanky ho and that arrogant smut… hated them with a passion.

* * *

_A.N.: I know, too short, and almost a filler...So show me some love! I really appreciate the feedback...the more reviews the happier I am and the sooner I update, I'm like a machine! J.K.! Those who reviewed chapter one: you're awesome...I love you and I want to have your reviewing babies..._

**Next on No More Running:**  
_"Ouch, Gilmore, got a problem with my date?" _


	3. No More Running

The rest of the flight, with the help of Finn and lots of champagne, was actually quite pleasant. Finn's date, the redhead from her dorm, was a nice girl. She seemed a little quiet for Finn, but when they were together Finn seemed to show a little more of his real personality rather than his hyperactive drunk alter ego. Stephanie made pleasant company, even in a state of slight tipsiness, and Rory was pretty much distracted enough to not look at Logan and Alicia during the flight. A thought gnarled at the back of her mind though. There were Finn and Lexi, Colin and Stephanie and if Colin and Stephanie hadn't been in a sore spot, whatever that meant, Alicia wouldn't have been here and… would that have meant she was Logan's date for the trip? It couldn't be. And if it was it would have been rather presumptuous of him to not ask or even inform her about it. By the 7th glass of champagne and another strip tease of Finn (cut short by Lexi), the little voices in Rory's head had pretty much died down. Or rather they had become sort of incomprehensible. Apparently Rory's subconscious could get drunk as well!

The drive to the resort was a short one, and Rory thanked the moon that she wasn't in the car with skanky ho and her pimp daddy. She was still a little drunk from the flight and rather sleepy, so the first hour in the car she spent sleeping, against the window, which turned out to give her a headache bad enough to wake her up again.

As she stretched out and inspected the view out of the window she was wondering where the day would take her. "So, Colin, Finn, Lexi, where are we going? I can ask that now, right? Since I'm not on reporter duty?"

Before anyone could answer, Lexi exclaimed, "You're Ace the reporter girl! I hadn't realised that! Oh my, I would never have thought you his type, doesn't L…."

"Right Lexi," Finn hurriedly interrupted. "What Gilmore was asking is where we are going and what we are going to do I presume. Well, we are on our way to Aspen, to the LDB ski cabins and we're going to experience the Snow-Fest of 2004."

Rory was a little confused. Why did Lexi know about Ace, and who was Ace according to her? Who's type didn't she look like? It couldn't be Logan, he was eating Alicia's face in the SUV behind them. He wouldn't do that if he liked someone else, say, her, now would he?

Rory thought back to the time when she was with Dean but had actually already fallen for Jess… She'd made out with someone she didn't really like anymore. Hell, her whole rekindled relationship with Dean was a farce too, she never had fallen back in love with him. It was a good thing they were over, it was too much trauma. Luckily, she'd found new friends like Logan… ghaaaa, she mentally slapped herself… no he isn't even your friend, Ace. Boy-girl friendships don't exist; you're mutualists, currently not living together so well at all, she thought disgruntledly.

"Rory, penny for your thoughts!" Colin said.

"You do seem to drift off a lot today" Finn added with a mischievous smile. Gosh, could that guy read minds or something?

"I'm just a little sleepy." she really wanted to divert attention away from herself. "So, we're going skiing then?"

The whole group erupted in laughter.

"Dear, dear Rory," Colin quite pedantically said, "The LDB Snow-Fest is much, much more than skiing. You will be amazed, bedazzled and stupefied! Hold on tight, it'll be a bumpy ride!"

Oh boy, what had she gotten herself into?

* * *

The cabins had been given out according to how the couples had been formed on the plane. Hence, Finn and Lexi, Stephanie and Rory, and Logan and Alicia were to share a cabin, and Colin was to share his cabin with the LDB stunt gear. He did not look too happy about it. To Rory's surprise she made out a slight hint of disappointment from Logan's face too as Alicia tried to be sexy about them sharing a cabin. The Hugh Heffner 'tude wasn't working for Logan obviously. Rory was relieved to find that Logan probably did prefer women with a little more style than Alicia. She was only Colin's rescue remedy gone awry after all.… And here she was, thinking about her and Logan again. This had to stop. It was total nonsense.

"You're losing your senses, Gilmore" Rory said to herself.

"Talking to yourself is an early sign of dementia you know." She heard a cocky tone behind her; she recognised it as Logan immediately.

"Yeah, well, at least I have brain cells that can degenerate to start with. I don't know how poor Alicia will ever cope after her brain starts to die off when she turns 21. She'll have none left by 25…"

"Ouch, Gilmore, got a problem with my date?" Logan said.

"No, no problem at all. You seem to have a problem with your date rather; otherwise you wouldn't be here with Miss McSluttyho now would you?" Rory knew it was below the belt, it hadn't been Logan's idea to call in Alicia after all.

"No, otherwise I'd be here with you." Logan hissed back at her. He looked strangely serious as he said this, but Rory had one more way to bite back her surprise over his tone, he couldn't be serious anyway.

"Well, you didn't seem to mind her all the time you were sucking her face, Huntzberger, so don't go complaining now." and with that she walked off toward her cabin. Finally, she'd gotten in the last word with Huntzberger, so how come it didn't feel as good as she'd expected it to feel?

Logan had indeed nothing to say back. She was right. He didn't really know why he had felt the need to make out with Alicia in front of Rory. He didn't like Alicia. She was way too easy and, frankly, not even a good kisser. Plus, she was indeed extremely dim-witted for a Yale student as Rory had guessed. She was a blond of the Jessica Simpson category. So why then had he been kissing her?

In all honesty, it was probably because he was just pissed at Stephanie and Colin for putting their problems between him and his goal. They'd been together since high school, and Colin was ready to settle, whereas Stephanie was not. They fought about it constantly. If it weren't for Stephanie and Colin's antics to piss each other off, he wouldn't have been stuck with Alicia, and Rory would probably not be pissed at him. He knew Rory was right, and it hurt him to think that he might have ruined his chances with her by being so blatantly a manwhore right in her face.

Yes, he liked her. He was ready and willingly to admit that now… to himself at least. He'd lived in denial for a long time, but dreams and visions of her haunted him in an increasing number of nights. After a week of hardly getting any sleep, right after their little argument over that silly stunt he had pulled in her philosophy class, and her subsequent excellent comeback, he had decided to make a pro/con list. He knew it was silly to do that at his age, but he always did this for important decisions. Colin had once made fun of him for it, but Logan had given him some grief over his own weirdness (shaving three times a day anyone?) and since then both these things were non-issues.

His pro-list of pursuing Rory was rather long, and there really were only two things on his con list. _She might not like you back. She may break your heart._ It could even be argued that this was one and the same reason. Seeing the enormous victory of the pro-list, Logan had some more sleepless nights, and finally decided to follow his longest list and follow his heart, no matter how heavy the issue(s) on the shorter list were. Unfortunately, his fears might already have come true on this trip that was meant to be special for him and Rory. The trip that Logan had thought might finally bring them together was blowing up in his face. With a deep sigh he picked up his gear and walked towards his cabin. Now to find a way to avoid Alicia as much as possible…

* * *

_A.N.: I'm loving the reviews :D I admit that this story is utter cliché fluff, but I hope there's a place in your hearts for that too. I might start updating my other fic again...after finals...Don't ever expect too much angst from me however, I don't like it and can't write it very well..._

**Next on No More Running**  
_"I broke up my ex-boyfriends marriage."_


	4. Alternative Activities

Rory and Stephanie had some rather deep conversations that first night in their cabin. The LDB had planned evening activities, but to Logan and Colin's displeasure, neither Rory nor Stephanie had showed up at any of them. It was nice for the both of them to be able to share secrets with another girl they could trust, and as much as they differed from each other, it turned out that they had a lot in common too.

"I'm just scared, Rory." Stephanie mumbled as she swallowed another spoonful of delicious chocolate ice cream. She was now tired of crying after wallowing for a good 2 hours. Rory's wallowing tactics agreed with Stephanie, especially the ice cream part. Both of them felt slightly sick though after two cartons of Caramel Sutra.

"I'm scared that I'm going to regret committing myself to Colin later. I love him, I do, but I always feel like running." With that, she tossed the empty carton in, err, well, near the trash can, basketball style.

"I know what you mean, sort of." Rory said and gave the small blond a hug. "I have this ridiculous pattern of running away too. I ran after all my first kisses with guys. Stupid, huh?"

"Well, not as stupid as not wanting to commit to your boyfriend who has been good to you for more than 7 years. I mean, I can't even imagine being with someone else. I don't think I want to."

"I know a little about how difficult committed teenage relationships are first hand," Rory said and she felt that she could trust her little adulterous adventure to Stephanie. Her ice cream carton followed Stephanie's and landed on the other side of the trashcan as she said as calmly as she could: "I broke up my ex-boyfriends marriage." Stephanie looked a little shocked at this revelation coming from innocent and seemingly prudish Rory, but not as disgusted as Rory had feared it would make people feel about her.

She willed herself to continue, she just had to get it out in the open, right now. "He said their marriage wasn't working, we slept together. I didn't even love him; I was just looking for comfort. When they got a divorce, I felt guilty enough to try and start a relationship, but that blew up in our faces."

"Oh my god, Rory, was he the guy who broke up with you at the party?" Stephanie asked wide-eyed.

"Yes, that's him." Rory spoke softly, "I think you should really work for your relationship Steph. You and Colin love each other so much. That should be enough to want to make it work. Don't be like me, don't run. And don't be like Dean. Don't let other people get between you and Colin. Trust is a great good. Once you lose trust in people it's really hard to make yourself trust again."

Stephanie gave Rory a big hug. "I don't want to be scared anymore. No more running."

"Neither do I, neither do I." Rory whispered.

She didn't sleep very well that night. Fleeting images of her ex-boyfriends and her moments of loneliness of the past year haunted her dreams. The only times she felt warm and comfortable was when she dreamt of Logan, but even that scared her. He was so different, from another world, how was that ever going to work. She woke up after a particularly vehement dream about her and Logan. She had had sexual dreams before, but now that she wasn't actually a virgin anymore they had changed character a little. It all felt so real, and it scared her. Logan didn't like her, she knew that, and she also knew now that she was falling hard for him. Not just in a physical way either. She had other kinds of dreams about them together too, dreams of a future. Logan had slowly but steadily teased his way deep into her heart and Rory was desperate to get him out of there again. Losing her heart equalled trouble she reminded herself. Boys and men weren't to be trusted; none of them had ever shown themselves to be trustworthy to her. But what about what she'd said to Stephanie? _I don't want to be afraid anymore_. Rory was afraid that would be easier said than done, though.

* * *

The day activities turned out to be very LDB-like indeed: completely ridiculous, dangerous, luxurious, and over the top exciting. They had skied off-slope—Rory had been unwillingly picked up by Finn and put on his back, he was stronger than she'd thought, and so she'd been piggy back skiing off slope with them. She wasn't as scared as she had expected to be. This LDB thing was starting to agree with her more and more. The guys hadn't been lying when they had been talking of the greatness of the Snow-Fest 2004. The LDB seemed to have the whole mountain to itself. In every corner there was some kind of extreme snow sport to be done. It dazzled Rory to see all this and she didn't exactly feel like risking her life so she mostly stood, watched, and laughed at people falling on their arses.

The slopes were lit by torches that glowed in the early dusk. Just as Rory was wondering where Logan had been all day, she felt a tap on her shoulder and saw his trademark smirk. Speak of the devil…

"You're not getting a lot of action standing around here, Ace."

"Well, maybe I don't want too much action." She hesitantly said, avoiding his eyes. Rory was unsure of what tone to take as she was still a little shell-shocked by the implications of her realisations last night, and also a little angry with him, not to mention jealous, for being with Alicia.

Logan saw the doubt on her face and he decided to plunge right in. "Why don't you come with me Ace, I've got just the activity for you." Rory felt a million sparks as he softly placed a hand on her shoulder, turned her in the other direction and took her hand, leading the way.

"But…"

"Ahh ahh ahh Ace, no buts, this isn't dangerous, maybe a little fast for you, yes, but totally safe. I saw how you enjoyed Finn's piggy back ride, so you'll certainly enjoy this."

"Where have you been all day? How come you saw me?" Rory asked.

Enter jealous Rory, Logan thought. It could be a good sign for him, if he could nip it in the bud that is. Luckily he had nothing to hide from her.

"I…"

"Wait, don't answer that." Rory interrupted him. She'd second guessed herself and could've just sunk into a great gaping hole in the ground for not realising the obvious. Of course he'd been with Alicia, doing who knows what in that cabin all day.

Logan saw the sudden angry and disappointed look on her face and had to correct her mistaken assumption quickly.

"The fact is, I was on the slopes all day. I was on video and photo duty; no one wants to do that so we drew straws and I was the unlucky one this time." Actually, that was the normal procedure. This year Logan had volunteered, to the amazement of many and to the great displeasure of a certain short blonde girl. "I've been video taping and photographing all day… now that it's getting darker I can finally enjoy myself a little." He said with an earnest face, "I got a nice shot of you and Finn skiing." He laughed, he had actually taken a lot of pictures of Rory, just not too many to avoid any creepy stalker vibes.

"Oh…" Rory was lost for words. And she suddenly felt a whole lot warmer, especially since Logan was still holding her hand and their body heat was now connecting through their gloves. He hadn't been with Alicia. She could hardly suppress a wide grin.

They didn't speak much during the ride in the ski-lift and the ensuing short walk to another mountain slope. Rory didn't feel as uncomfortable in the silence as she had been with other boys. Their still holding hands and Logan absently stroking her hand with his thumb might have had a lot to do with that.

Logan was beside himself with anguish by now. They were walking so comfortably together in silence, she hadn't let go of his hand and he couldn't stop from gently rubbing her hand with little strokes. He realised all the more how much he wanted this girl. Not just as a physical toy, but for who she was. Rory Gilmore, ravishing mystery, beautiful beyond comprehension, intelligent, quick, and unfortunately not interested in him. He was falling for her more and more by the second. It felt so good to be close to her, but Logan kept thinking back to the last time he had fallen for a girl this hard. And more importantly, about the heartbreak after she had ditched him for his older brother.

"Logan, where are we going?" Rory softly spoke. He looked very absent minded and slightly worried. She was afraid they might have gotten lost and that Logan was getting them even more lost by walking on and on and on…

"Relax Ace." Luckily he could still put on the cocky mask he thought. Thank heavens for acting classes. "We're almost there." Logan knew these slopes by heart and didn't have to think about where he was going. Many a childhood holiday had been spent here, and he and his brothers would scavenge all of the mountainsides to their mother's great distress. He knew they were close to the place he wanted to take her and just then he saw the small rental shed only a few hundred yards away.

"Here we are Ace. Just wait here a sec while I get our sled!" Logan was smiling like a little boy on Christmas morning, but Rory felt a little concerned.

"Our sled?" She called out to him, "Logan, this doesn't look like a LDB slope, where are we?'

* * *

_A.N.: Thanks for the encouraging reviews! A few more chapters to go. Next chapters will be what you've all been waiting for!_

**Next on No More Running:**  
_She could barely get out, "Logan, what's that?" before they crashed right into the heaps of drifted snow._  



	5. The Sledding Incident

Logan came walking back towards her with something in his hands that Rory wouldn't dare call a sled. It was a small, plastic shovel-like seat.

"And what the heck is that!"

"One question at a time, just like Google Ace, or the answer won't make sense" Logan grinned and continued, "As to your first question, no, this isn't a LDB activity, this is something I used to do as a kid and it's lots of fun and a little less riskier than the LDB stuff. I thought you might like it. Second question: this," He pointed at the red plastic thing, "is a sled. Now sit down. Please."

"Sit down where?" Rory asked incredulously. How did she get herself into scrapes like these? _Because you like him, that's why_. If she could only drown out that nagging little voice life would be so much easier.

"What are you waiting for Ace, hop on!" Logan said as he patted the scrap of plastic on the snow in front of him. "Trust me, it'll be fun."

Logan chuckled and patted the seat once more. "Ghaaaa, all right! But if I get hurt, be prepared to face the wrath of Lorelai, Emily, and this Gilmore."

Logan felt slightly uncomfortable about that image. He had broken a bone or two in his time, and it had been a while since he'd been on the sled, but he was sure they'd be all right. He just needed to keep away from the trees. And he wasn't going to get another chance at being so close to Rory anytime soon so this just had to happen now.

Rory uncomfortably sat down on what really did resemble a big shovel.

"Okay, err… you're sitting on it wrong Ace, you need one leg on either side of the steer." Logan laughed

"Oh so this handle is supposed to be a steer! Geez, now I feel comfortable." Rory scowled. In fact, when Logan sat down behind her and encircled her with his legs she felt a lot more comfortable. They'd never been so physically close before. He then also reached his arms around her and grabbed the heft of the sled.

"You ready Ace?" his voice was slightly husky and Rory had to repress a shiver when he spoke so close to her ear that she could feel his breath on her neck.

"Totally." Rory said, her own voice quite unsteady now too.

At that, Logan pulled the heft up and set them in motion with a swift kick of his leg. He then pushed Rory's legs off of the snow with his own. If they weren't moving so damn quickly off the mountain slope, Rory might have enjoyed the feeling of her weight being supported so much by Logan's body. Because of the sudden increase in speed she could, however, only scream.

"Oh myyyyy gooooooood Logaaaaaaan, this can't be safe….iiiiiiiiiiiihhhhhhh"

They kept gaining speed, but luckily Logan managed to regain the control of his vocal chords, after all muscular control had been temporarily suspended after feeling Rory press so close to him after 'take off', and he spoke in her ear, "Relax Ace, enjoy the view, enjoy the feeling. Let go of your fears!"

Rory couldn't completely let go, but she was enjoying their swift descent along the mountainside a little more with every second. The slope was deserted; apparently it had been out of use for a while. And within the next few seconds she got a pretty good idea why.

As they neared the end of the slope, laughing together now, Rory was suddenly surprised by what seemed like a wall of snow coming into view. She could barely get out, "Logan, what's that?" before they crashed right into the heaps of drifted snow.

Logan sputtered as he cleared some snow from his eyes "That would be a snowdrift Rory." and he rolled over with laughter at the look on her face after feeling the snow having seeped into her jacket.

She tried to look angry, but really, they weren't hurt and Logan looked rather adorable with all that snow in his hair and ears and… she just couldn't help herself.

Logan saw her face change from mock-chagrin, to something more joyful and then a strange seriousness. Rory grabbed Logan's hand as she helped him up from the snow, which he was still in. He didn't really need her help to get up but he appreciated the gesture, but perhaps he gave her a little too much weight to pull since she suddenly slipped and landed right on top of him. It was in this sudden closeness, face to face with each other, that they couldn't deny their true feelings for each other any longer.

His eyes, so deep and soft were staring right into her soul, Rory thought, and she looked at his lips.

Her eyes, so cool and sparkling were looking at him in a way he'd never seen before. He saw her shift her gaze at his lips. Suddenly Logan was aware of every inch of his body touching hers and her weight upon him in the snow. He felt the cold of the melting snow in his jacket; he felt his blood pump through his veins as Rory held her gaze on his mouth. Her breathing was unsteady, he could feel her shiver. He was shaking too, but neither of them felt cold.

Rory felt the warmth of Logan and the cold, wet feeling of melting snow somewhere in her bra. Something like that would have made a great Gilmore joke some other time, but right now the cold and the wet and the warmth were all intermingled into one big haze. His lips, she wanted to feel them…

As she closed the tiny gap between them Logan gasped. She felt his breath on her mouth and then the softness of his lips. He was so soft, so tender, nothing like she'd expected a womanizer such as Logan Huntzberger to be. Logan couldn't think of anything else but the warm mouth that was upon him. He ripped off one of his gloves and touched her cold, wet, but oh so soft cheek. Rory shivered at his touch and opened her mouth a little to allow him to kiss her more deeply. They were communicating without words, slowly exploring each other more intimately than they could when talking. There were no worries, there was no future, there was only here and now, and Logan and his warm tongue caressing hers.

There was no fear, no pain in Logan's heart as he poured all of his heart into this kiss. Hands roamed, a soft moan of pleasure escaped Logan's throat as Rory's tongue caressed a particularly sensitive spot inside his mouth. The cold of the snow was far away as they both had to pull back for lack of oxygen. Logan was perfectly happy, he couldn't have dreamed of a better first kiss. In fact, he couldn't remember ever having kissed this way with anyone. Their kiss had a hint of their banter in it, teasing, getting the best out of each other, too much for anyone other than them to keep up with.

Rory, however, opened her eyes and immediately the Gilmore neurosis set in.

"No…no…no…." was all she could say, and all she could think was _this did not just happen, I did not just kiss Logan Huntzberger._

She scrambled to her feet and before Logan knew what had happened he saw Rory running away in the snow, crying he supposed from the way she swashed her arms across her eyes.

"Rory!" he shouted… but he knew it was too late. "Well done Huntzberger!" He grunted at himself. He had felt like he was on a winning streak, earlier, on the sled and while they were walking hand in hand. Suddenly all the cards had changed. Why did he always mess up with the girls he really liked? He should have just stayed away from her; he should have known he wouldn't be able to stop himself from rushing things.

Then something Finn had said earlier that day sprang to mind.

"Don't you wait too long Huntzberger. She'll be quite a struggle to begin with, this girl. The good ones are always a struggle. But if you don't fight the battle you'll lose her forever to some dork like her ex-boyfriend. Remember that she likes you too, she just needs to realise it. Go for it mate, promise me? You deserve it."

Finn came off as the joker, but he was a very good judge of character, and despite what it seemed like, he and Lexi were very serious. He wasn't sure about the part of him deserving a girl like Rory, but at that moment Logan made a decision. It was Rory who had initiated their kiss after all; he might even stand a chance.

"I may fall flat on my face, but I'll be damned if I let Gilmore run." he said out loud, and started running after her.

* * *

_A.N.: I'm buried in finals, so I have little time for updates but I managed to squeeze one in! It's the kiss! Squeee! More goodness to come, true to rating :) Please keep reviewing! It makes me feel lovedand will make the last two chapters come faster! Oh, and I should thank my beta Pixelie! She beta'd this the first time around when it was on Event Integrity_

**Next on No More Running:**  
_"You… um..." Logan cleared his throat, "Don't you need clothes?"_


	6. All's well that ends well

Running back to the cabin, Rory felt rather displeased with herself. Why had she run again? Just when she and Stephanie had promised each other that they wouldn't be afraid anymore. And what was she afraid of anyway? Hadn't Logan shown himself to be capable of being more than an asshat after her break up with Dean? Why was she refusing to let herself believe that there was more to this guy? She was still trying to figure all this out when she saw the note Stephanie had left for her on the table as she walked into their cabin.

_Making up with Colin. Won't be back tonight if all goes well. Thank you Rory! I'm ready to commit to my true feelings. How about you?_

_xx Steph_

_P.S. Don't wait too long. Logan is quite a catch, but he'll be off the hook if you don't tend to your line…_

Rory couldn't help but smile at the note. She hadn't expected to be so transparent.

Rory sighed deeply. She had sure messed things up. That kiss was so perfect and thinking about it practically made her legs give way. How could she have run? Suddenly, feeling very cold and wet, she decided to get into the shower to get warm. Maybe it would clear her mind a bit. She needed to focus on how to redeem herself with Logan. She would fight for him if she had to. If Steph could do it for Colin, so would she.

Just having undressed, Rory heard a soft knock on the door of the cabin. Not wanting to come out, being naked, wet and cold and all, she shouted, "I'm in the shower, door's open."

Against all odds she hoped it would be Logan, even though she was sure she'd scared him off for life by now.

As Logan apprehensively entered the cabin, he saw Rory peeking around the door of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. Gosh, that small bit of shoulder skin was already sending heat waves up his spine.

"Um, hi…" he said. He really didn't know how to start a conversation in this odd arrangement.

"Gimme a sec, I need to warm up a little." Rory said. Her eyes looked soft and not as scared as when Logan had last looked into them.

"Sure, I'll wait, if you don't mind." he said.

Rory nodded and went back into the shower. Despite the sudden need for a cold shower she decided to make it a hot one anyway. She'd had enough of everything cold today. She couldn't help thinking of Logan as the water cascaded down her body. About the mind-numbing kiss they'd shared, his tongue sweeping through her mouth, starting so sweetly but growing more hot and demanding. She wondered what would have happened hadn't they ended up out of breath, giving her time to think and run. She was getting rather hot and bothered now as she couldn't send the images of Logan's eyes, his smell, and his touch from her mind anymore. Resolutely she turned off the shower. She had to do something about this situation. Right now.

In the meantime Logan had lit the fireplace in the cabin, it had central heating, but Rory seemed like a girl that would get cold easily, with her slender posture and almost translucent skin. As he heard the shower splash Logan couldn't help but imagine how she was in there, her body as fair and soft as her cheeks and her hands, soft, so soft. He thought of how he'd touched her cheek and how they had moaned and shivered. What would have happened, hadn't she run away during the short breathing pause they were forced to take? Logan willed himself to think of something other than Rory and him having passionate sex in the snow, but right at that moment Rory stepped out of the shower, hair still dripping wet, wrapped in a towel. That wasn't helping the chaste thoughts at all…

Tiny drops of water were running down her shoulders onto her towel-wrapped chest. Logan felt his mouth go dry and Rory saw him staring at her. She smiled a little and said, "You lit a fire, that's really nice."

"You… um..." Logan cleared his throat, "Don't you need clothes?" He uncomfortably ruffled his hair and looked at the ground. Those legs, oh my…

"Yes, I do, I believe, but I forgot to bring any into the bathroom. I was a little distracted when I got home." She smiled sweetly and took a small step towards Logan, who felt like the room was closing in on him. Rory had made up her mind in the shower. She was going to take this chance. She wasn't going to be like Luke and pine for years when she could have something great right now.

If Rory took a few more of those steps Logan wasn't sure whether he would be able to breathe anymore.

"And I forgot to bring my large towel too, I only had this tiny one." One step closer again.

"Do you want me to get one for you?" Logan asked hoarsely, seeing the determined look in her eyes he now dared to take a small step Rory's way himself.

"No, I think I'll be fine," Rory almost breathed rather than spoke, never letting her gaze fall from his eyes.

"Are you sure you will be fine?" Logan asked softly as he closed the distance between them. They both knew that he was asking a totally different question altogether.

Rory answered by placing a kiss on his lips. Softer yet than the one they'd shared in the snow. Logan responded with a sigh which made Rory grin like a chimp. She really did feel ridiculously happy. Logan wrapped his arms around her wet, towelled body and felt how cold she was.

"Here, let me warm you up." he said, and took a blanket from the couch, wrapped it around Rory, towel included. She was indeed shivering by now, from the cold, but also the excitement rushing through her body. As Logan picked her up and carried her to the fire she silently wished he'd never let go. It had been so long since she'd felt so safe with a boy, or a man, whatever you want to call people in their early twenties and late teens. Dean had been awkward compared to this, even though she thought she felt safe at the time. But being here with Logan… she never wanted it to end.

"You know, this isn't exactly fair," Rory said as she sat warming by the fire, Logan's arms still wrapped tightly around her, leaning her back against his chest.

"I'm sitting here in nothing but a towel and a blanket, and you, are fully clothed." She smiled, turned around as far as she could and started to kiss Logan, more passionately than a few minutes ago, her tongue demanding entrance to his mouth immediately.

Logan was surprised but pleased at this change of events. He was perfectly content just holding Rory and slowly rubbing her warm body, but boy, this girl was one heck of a kisser. It felt foreign to him to be touched so wholly by a kiss, being altogether consumed by someone, even more so as Rory started slowly to unbutton his shirt. The undressing became more impatient and Rory's blanket and towel fell a little as she pressed Logan to the floor and moved over him to take of his undershirt. He was still wet and felt a little cold as well from the snow.

Logan's breath hitched at the sight of Rory's beautiful almost naked body, luminescent in the light of the fire. Rory was surprised as Logan tenderly took the blanket that remained half around her legs and covered the both of them with it. For the moment they lay totally content, just holding each other, stroking each other's warm skin under the blanket by the fire. Rory chuckled as she remembered her mother's words: _Make sure your hair doesn't get caught in the flames._

Logan felt her silent giggle. "What's wrong Ace, do I have a third nipple I didn't know about?"

"No, just a mole in the shape of teletubby, the gay one, with the purse. Should I take this as a sign that _You're just not that in to me?_" Rory grinned. How was it possible to feel so comfortable with someone?

"You're evil, you know that?" Logan laughed, "evil and damn sexy." He kissed her neck and Rory immediately felt goose bumps all over her body.

"Are you cold?" Logan asked concernedly.

"Extremely…"

Logan kissed her once more and then stood up, wrapping Rory in the blanket again and picking her up in order to lead her to the bedroom.

"How do you know where my bedroom is?" she asked incredulously, "Have you been in here before? Should I report you to the authorities as my stalker?"

"This is my mom and dad's cabin," Logan said "they don't use it anymore, they go to Switzerland nowadays, but we used to stay here as kids."

Something dawned on Rory and a rather mischievous smile crept across her face.

"Hey, Logan?"

"Yeah?" he said as he laid her down on the bed.

"Does this mean we are going to make love in your parents' bed? Because I must say, that is rather kinky and I don't know…"

Logan swallowed thickly at Rory's directness. She had surprised herself too, but she owed it to herself and Logan to go through with what she had promised herself and Stephanie: no longer be afraid. She was embracing her feelings, and those feelings currently led her into bed with this wonderful person. The words had slipped out, verbal diarrhea she'd call it at any other time, she couldn't take them back and hoped Logan wouldn't think she was an easy lay now.

Logan silenced her thoughts with a kiss and crept into bed with her. "And what if we are? I think stripping me down on their rug by their fireplace might have already cost you your place in prude heaven, Ace." he managed to say it with a smirk, trying to keep things light and desperately hoping that she felt the same way about this as he did.

Rory softly smacked his shoulder and they laughed and kissed feeling relieved about the openness they had achieved on the matters at hand.

Slowly the cuddling turned beyond playful. Rory felt now that it was more than a physical yearning to feel him inside her that drove her actions, it was a passion unknown to her, one she had never felt for anyone else.

For Logan as well it was more than arousal, and it was about more than just sleeping with a beautiful woman; this felt special because he recognised a stronger version of a feeling which he thought he had lost through the heartache of years ago, he felt a deep-rooted love for the girl that was sprawled over him.

"Ace," Logan's ragged breath burned her skin, "Are you sure about this?"

By now he could no longer feel where he ended and Rory began.

Rory knew what direction they were heading, and some grain of responsibility still resided in her clouded mind.

"Logan, do you have erm…"

"Yes, wait a second" he reached for his jeans, luckily lying close to them on the floor.

Condoms could be a hassle, but at this moment he didn't give a thing about that. He was slightly nervous though, and Rory could see that he struggled a little, which surprised her. She kissed his hand, and he relaxed visibly. Rory didn't know that—despite his reputation—Logan had never ever felt so nervous before having sex. Nor that it was because he truly cared for her and he wanted everything to be perfect.

Rory on the other hand was surprised at her comfort with being naked, with Logan, in his parents' bed of all places. She really didn't care; she just wanted him as close as possible.

Their lovemaking turned more passionate and urgent by the second. It felt so safe, so comfortable with him that she could let go of everything that had held her back before when she was with Dean. No shame, no guilt, no wives or possible intrusions by roommates, mothers and… God forbid, Miss Patty. He could worship her body for ever and ever, he would never grow tired of her.

Tonight it was just her and Logan, and it was perfect.

* * *

"This… was amazing…" Logan panted and a few drops of sweat ran down his forehead. 

"Yes, it was..." Rory said as she leaned over and softly kissed him tenderly, devoid of passion but full of something that they would later be able to call love. But for now, just lying here together, was quite enough. Logan held Rory tightly as they drifted off to sleep.

Later that night Rory woke up shivering. The blankets had fallen to the ground. She found herself still lying in Logan's arms but he didn't feel very warm either. She was slightly surprised to see that he was awake too.

"How long have you been watching me?" she softly smiled.

"Just a few minutes. You are so beautiful when you sleep."

"As opposed to when I'm awake you mean?" Rory grinned at her little midnight wittiness.

Logan softly kissed her shoulder, "You know damn well that I always think you're beautiful. The fact that you're asleep and can't talk back just makes you even more attractive." He smirked as Rory gently bit his arm. "Or perhaps it's the way your lashes lie on your cheeks like a butterfly resting on a rose petal." he added...and broke out in a fit of boy-giggles as Rory made gagging noises...

"That was a bit much, wasn't it?" Logan said softly...was that a blush on his face?

As he got out of bed to pick up the blankets from the floor, in order to provide them a little more warmth in the cold cabin, Rory was lost in thought. This was more than lust, she knew it, but she just didn't know how to make sure of it. As she lay pondering her previous relationships, a sudden moment of clarity put everything into perspective a little more. This was the fist time that she had fallen for a guy because she had actually fallen for him. Of course she had fallen in love, or whatever that was, with guys, but only after she was certain they liked her back. And now, now she was here, with someone who she'd desperately tried not to like, but had found herself head over heels with anyway. And thankfully he seemed to feel the exact same way about her. She just wished it could be put in writing, have the fine print checked out by her granddad, have Kirk make it into a film… Rory's thought became incoherent and slightly disturbingly mixed up as she drifted into slumber again in Logan's arms. She hadn't even felt him get back into bed in her deep, sleepy stream of thought.

Logan watched Rory's frown as she shifted her head on his chest. She was obviously thinking about something important. He hoped that he had been all that she had expected, and he hoped that she felt the same way about him as he felt about her. He just wished he knew exactly how she felt. It had been a long time ago that Logan had had his heart on the line like this, and it getting trampled on a second time around might break it forever. He sighed as he told himself that that probably wasn't going to happen and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

Neither of them slept very well after the first rush of post-coital peacefulness, not to mention tiredness, had lifted. When Logan woke up the next morning however, he found comfort in the fact that, despite all his dreaming, and the tossing and turning he had felt Rory do, she was now clung to him, her arms wrapped tightly around his middle and her head in the crook of his shoulder. The frown he saw on her face last night had left it and he felt rather certain that they would be all right, the two of them, even though it might take time. He kissed Rory's head and she relaxed a little more. 

"Morning Rory, Morning Ace" he softly whispered into her hair.

"Hmmm…coffee…" Rory muttered.

At least some things hadn't changed during the amazing events of last night.

Logan laughed. "Coffee it is, my love," he whispered, "Coffee it is."

**The End**

_

* * *

A.N.: that's it my friends, I couldn't divide this chapter in two so it's extra long, lots of fluff and romance and finally something worth the R rating... Please let me know what you think :) Thank everyone who's reviewed this story so far, and of course my wonderful beta Pixelie_


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